Sunderland AFC's top 5 craziest ever results ft play-off heartache | OneFootball

Highlights

Sunderland AFC fans have been on a rollercoaster ride for the past decade or so and on that ride of many ups and downs, have experienced some crazy results.

As the club finally look to be a stable side once again, let's take a trip down memory lane, to some unforgettable, and forgettable, results for the Black Cats over the years.

Charlton 4 - 4 Sunderland (Charlton win 7-6 on penalties)

Year: 1998

Kicking off this craziest-ever matches list is perhaps the craziest play-off final that Wembley Stadium has ever seen.

On a sunny May day in 1998, Charlton and Sunderland faced off at the old Wembley Stadium in the First Division (now Championship) play-off final. The match would go on to be the highest-scoring play-off final in the competition's history.

The game was a typical 'ding-dong' type match, as in the first half, three goals were scored. An opener from hat-trick hero Clive Mendonca was then cancelled out by the famous duo of Kevin Phillips and Niall Quinn, who netted one each to leave the Wearsiders ahead at the break.

However, quickly after the restart, Mendonca, who is famously, and ironically, a Sunderland fan, netted his second and equalised. Two minutes later, his goal was cancelled out by Quinn again, who put Sunderland 3-2 up.

Heading into injury time, Charlton needed a hero, and 164-game Addicks stalwart Richard Rufus equalised the game once again and forced it into extra time. From there, Sunderland took the lead again through Nicky Summerbee, only for Mendonca to seal his hat-trick moments after and force the game to penalties after a tired ending to the extra 30 minutes.

Even the penalties for this match were bonkers, with both sides slotting home their first five, meaning a promotion place was going to be decided by sudden death. With the scores at 7-6 in favour of Charlton, local boy Alex Rae stepped forward for Sunderland in hopes of continuing the shootout.

He claims, however, in this BBC Sport article, "I did not want to take one. I said that all along." and his dispondent penalty proved so.

Charlton goalkeeper Sasa Ilic saved and held onto Rae's penalty, which brought to an end 120 minutes and more of pure entertainment for neutrals, a rollercoaster of emotions for both fans, but ultimately, heartache for Sunderland fans.

Southampton 8 - 0 Sunderland

Year: 2014

This list simply had to include Sunderland's biggest-ever defeat since the turn of the century – a hammering away at Southampton.

The game came in the season following the Black Cats' infamous great escape season under Gus Poyet. The Argentine had hoped that his side could step up and rid themselves of the perennial relegation candidates moniker. However, the opposite proved to be the case coming into the match away at St Mary's, with the team having only recorded one win so far in the 2014/15 season, at home to Stoke City.

So when Santiago Vergini volleyed home an outstanding own goal barely 12 minutes in, many Sunderland fans must have feared the absolute worst. Two more own goals from Liam Bridcutt and Patrick Van Aanholt as well as goals for Jack Cork, Dušan Tadić, and Victor Wanyama, plus a brace from Graziano Pelle helped realise those fears and left the majority, if not all, of the traveling Sunderland fans wishing they had never bothered to make the trip down to the South Coast.

Bolton Wanderers 6 - 0 Sunderland

Year: 2022

It is more than fair to say, Sunderland don't always fair well on their travels.

Looking at this table on Transfermarkt, the club's top five heaviest defeats since the beginning of the 99/00 season have all come away from home, and surely the thumping defeat at the hands of Bolton in the 21/22 season is the lowest point for the club.

The game took place midway through the season on January 29th 2022, and the Black Cats came into it with mixed form. They had recorded two wins, including a 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield Wednesday, but suffered two draws and a 1-3 home defeat to Lincoln City.

The side were being managed by Lee Johnson, and from kick-off, the game seemed to be settling into the rhythm of an ordinary League One clash.

However, after a 19th-minute opener by Dion Charles, thanks to a goalkeeping error from Ron-Thorben Hoffmann, and a tap-in by Dapo Afolayan, meant the score between the two sides was 2-0 at halftime and many Mackems would've hoped a better second half display may spare their blushes and hand them a chance at gaining a point.

Those hopes were quickly dashed, however, as just over five minutes into the second half, another goal by Dion Charles opened the floodgates and saw three more goals hit the back of the Sunderland net from Kieran Lee and Declan John, as well as an own goal from experienced defender Danny Batth.

The result was damning for boss Johnson too, as this was his last game in charge of the side before being sacked by the Sunderland hierarchy.

Year: 1973

Heading the furthest back in this list by far, we have reached Sunderland's potential finest hour, their 1973 FA Cup victory over Don Revie's Leeds United.

Going into the match, despite being known as "The Bank of England's team", Sunderland were mere minnows compared to the might of Revie's Leeds. The Whites boasted ten full internationals in the side that lined up that day, with that team having won the first division under the legendary manager, as well as participating extensively in Europe.

Sunderland began the match having to defend heavily from attack after attack from Leeds. However, despite being a side who were in the midst of a relegation battle in the first division, the Mackems magnificently took the lead from a corner as Ian Porterfield headed home a Billy Hughes corner.

The match, though, was decided by a moment of goalkeeping magic from keeper Jimmy Montgomery. With Leeds continuing their onslaught of pressure, Sunderland's number one first parried a Trevor Cherry header before brilliantly denying Peter Lorimer on the follow-up to keep a clean sheet and preserve the Black Cats' slender lead.

Upon the final whistle blowing, a moment that is now immortalised outside the Stadium of Light occurred. Donning his trademark mackintosh and trilby, Bob Stokoe ran onto the Wembley turf in celebration. This would go on to be Sunderland's last triumph at Wembley until they won the EFL trophy in 2020/21, beating Tranmere Rovers by one goal to nil.

1 - Sunderland 1 - 0 Manchester City

Year: 2012

The craziest match for the Black Cats, though, isn't a high scorer, and thankfully not a loss either, but rather a last-minute win over a Manchester City side that were four years into the Sheikh Mansour reign and on their way to a dramatic first Premier League title.

Coming into the match, the side from the blue half of Manchester were looking to take advantage of a Manchester United loss at Blackburn earlier that day. However, excellent, determined teamwork from Martin O'Neill's side provided Sunderland fans with a moment many still remember to this day.

Having had chances for Nicklas Bendtner and Stephane Sessengnon denied either side of half-time, and having narrowly escaped conceding goals from Edin Dzeko and Micah Richards thanks to the post, the match was perfectly poised as the game entered its final stages.

With South Korean Ji Dong-Won coming on as a second-half substitute, he latched on to a Sessengnon through ball in the final seconds, and, despite a suspicion of offside, the midfielder rounded Joe Hart to slot home the winner into an empty net, giving O'Neill and the entirety of the home support a memory to last a lifetime.

It's a very memorable one for many neutrals as well given the commentary that Martin Tyler produced for Sky Sports, who were at the game. As the pass came through from the Benin-international, Tyler can be heard building in extreme excitement, saying: "Sessengnon, for Ji!!! He's round the goalkeeper, HE'S DONE IT!!".

The iconic commentary is available above and will leave any viewer with goosebumps, as it is easy to tell that this crazy end to the game is by far the most iconic match Sunderland have had the fortune of being a part of.